listen

It’s amazing what happens when you really listen to someone. When you clear your mind of what you think the other person is trying to say and train yourself to hear what’s really going on underneath the dialogue. When you start to notice energetic inflections and disappointing sighs and notice the kinds of words being used.

Many times, we only sort of listen to other people. We are distracted by our own thoughts and worries, or perhaps too occupied with wondering what we can say in response. But learning how to truly listen to other people is awesome. No matter how long you’ve known someone, when you learn to truly listen to him/her you often get to meet a kinder, more gracious person than you thought you knew.